As bad as the third-and-18 play was by the Chargers defense on Opening Night, the third-and-7, Week Two conversion against the Eagles was a gem by the team's offense.

“It was an awesome play,” Eddie Royal said.

This was high-level football, and a critical piece to San Diego’s 33-30 upset victory. On the road, five snaps after losing Malcom Floyd, who’d caught five passes for 102 yards, the Chargers pulled of a sophisticated play that netted 21 yards on a Philip Rivers sideline pass to a leaping Royal.

“Just a great play,” Charlie Whitehurst said. “It was very exciting. That’s why everyone was going crazy on the sideline.”

What made it special: When the Eagles sent six rushers, a six-man blocking unit led by running back Ronnie Brown held up, and although Rivers threw the ball in just 2.4 seconds, Royal had pulled off a double move that sprang him upfield.

“It’s tough to simulate it, but the key to the play is practicing it at high speed,” Rivers said.

Royal's route, an out and up, accentuates Royal's rare change-of-direction quickness. Normally Floyd would’ve cleared out in front of Royal, who lined up three yards behind the line, wide left – but it was his replacement, 21-year-old Keenan Allen, who burst upfield as Royal drafted behind him. “That really did help. We were looking at it on film this week and if he’s not running as fast as he can, the safety may jump me,” Royal said.

That Rivers had hit Allen for 18 yards, and thrown a second pass to him, made Allen a tangible threat.

Against Royal, knowing six men were rushing, cornerback Brandon Boykin logically jumped the out route that took Royal to the first-down line. But Royal busted a second move, upfield, losing Boykin.

Before Royal was out of his second move, Rivers cut loose as 309-pound end Cedric Thornton charged at him. The throw was a foot or two high, but the 5-foot-10 Royal, with his back to the sideline, jumped, caught it, and came down in play.

Brown also offers excellence as receiver (discouraging blitzers), in addition to efficiency as a runner and minimal risk of a fumble; if Fantasy Football owners have no use for him, offensive coordinators sure do.

"I really like Ronnie," Ken Whisenhunt had said three days earlier, echoing Norv Turner. "There is a calmness about him that really helps when you’re trying to be on the same page protection wise. He’s worked with Philip. He’s worked with protection schemes and he does a nice job with that. He had some important plays on check downs and that’s an important piece of it. You have to be able to have some ability to do that and protect. One of the reasons I was excited to get him back was because of his versatility. That’s what you need in the league today."